Nichols Wins a National Championship
Bobby Nichols won the 1974 Canadian Open and played his way into the World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club where he was the head pro
Pretty shocking news about the PGA TOUR, DP Tour, and LIV Golf merger news. While we don’t know, exactly, how it will play out on the course, we do know that it will send shock waves across the golf world. The majors just got more powerful.
Another fantastic finish on the PGA TOUR where Viktor Hovland secured a par at the final hole while Denny McCarthy made a bogey. Hovland then won on the first playoff hole. Hovland overcame a two-stroke deficit over the last two holes of regulation. Congratulations to Hovland who won his fourth PGA TOUR title, but it was his first win not in a tropical setting (he won previously at 2020 Puerto Rico Open, the 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic and again in 2021 at Mayakoba).
Congratulations also, to Denny McCarthy who was understandably disappointed, but played fantastic golf on a difficult course that featured some major championship conditions with firm greens and thick, high rough. Weirdest stat of the week belongs to Scottie Scheffler who finished third with a final round 67. Scheffler gained 11.846 strokes approaching the green against the field while losing 8.516 strokes to the field on the greens.
In last week’s Tour Backspin Poll, 78% of you thought that Brandel Chamblee got the better of Claude Harmon III in their Twitter spat concerning LIV Golf issues. Tell us what you think about the future of Jay Monihan after the PGA TOUR/LIV Golf merger.
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This week the PGA TOUR is in Canada, at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Ontario, for the Canadian Open. While this tournament dates back to 1904 and was once considered as almost a major championship, the event does not enjoy Designated Event status. Still, it is a national championship and should get us ready for the U.S. Open the following week. Be sure to check out our special content next week for the U.S. Open.
We’re turning back to the 1974 Canadian Open in our featured story this week. Learn how Bobby Nichols played his way into a very lucrative exhibition event at the course where he was the home pro with a win at the Canadian Open.
Bobby Nichols talks about Power-Bilt irons in this week’s vintage at from 1974. Scroll down to view.
We’re rockin’ out to the hits of 1974 on this week’s Spotify playlist. Listen HERE.
The powerful swing of Bobby Nichols is featured in the Swing Like a Pro feature. Scroll down to view.
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Bobby Nichols Plays His Way Into the World Series of Golf
It is Thursday, July 24th, 1974, and Ian MacLaine, writing for the Canadian Press (CP) wire service is previewing the Canadian Open scheduled to start that same day. He spoke with Tommy Aaron, winner of the 1969 Canadian Open and had a good track record whenever he played in Canada. They talked about the changes to the Mississaugua Golf Club in Port Credit, Ontario, near Toronto.
“If they keep the tees back on number 3, it’s going to be tough to hit the green.”
Alterations to the course since the last time it hosted the Canadian Open, in 1965, added 130 yards so that it now played at 6,788 yards. Aaron thought that the yardage added to the 3rd and 6th hole, both par 3 holes, would provide the “real test” for the touring pros.
“If they keep the tees back on number 3, it’s going to be tough to hit the green,” Aaron predicted. “And number six has the golfers hitting into a small green.”
The third hole measured 216 yards while the sixth hole measured 232 yards.
One hole that had not been changed was the 12th hole, known as The Chief. The hole proved pivotal in the 1965 Canadian Open, the last time the national championship was held at Mississaugua. Jack Nicklaus went for the green in two on the par 5 hole and failed to clear the Credit River that fronts the green. He ended up with a double bogey and lost to Gene Littler by one stroke. The hole was certain to play a pivotal role again this week in 1974.
Tom Weiskopf, the defending champion, and Jack Nicklaus, spoke about the prestige of the Canadian Open on the eve of the opening round. Adding to the prestige was the fact that the winner of this year’s tournament would qualify for the lucrative World Series of Golf. Since Gary Player won both the Masters and The Open Championship, the winner of the Canadian Open would fill out the four-man field at Firestone Country Club where the winner would pocket $50,000. The other two players were Lee Trevino, PGA Championship winner and Hale Irwin, U.S. Open champ.
“You have as good a tournament outside the top four as there can be.”
“This one certainly has to be regarded as one of the very important ones on the tour,” Weiskopf stated. “It’s held very highly by the players.” He went on to lament that the tournament was not considered a major.
“You have as good a tournament outside the top four as there can be,” Nicklaus added.
Thursday’s opening round was played under sunny skies in front of an announced attendance of 10,490. Course conditions required a blue line painted on the 14th, 16th, and 17th greens to define the putting surface from the fringe. The problem was that there were areas outside the blue lines that were mown to green length and the sunny weather made it difficult to see the light blue line.
“There’s no way it should take five hours and five minutes to play this course.”
Three players were penalized two strokes for marking their balls outside of the designated area. Bob Menne, Phil Giroux, and Ken Still, all appealed their penalties and all three received favorable verdicts on their appeals. In Still’s case, the rescinding of the penalty resulted in him holding the lead with a score of 65. The tournament committee explained that “inequities existed” because in some cases “this line was not consistently visible.”
“The sun was shining in such a manner that I couldn’t see the blue line,” Still said.
The other controversy of the day was the pace of play.
“There’s no way it should take five hours and five minutes to play this course,” Weiskopf said.
Still led Lee Trevino and Rik Massengale by one stroke while nine players, including Bobby Nichols, were tied at 67.
“It’s a shame this should happen on a really good golf course.”
Because of the complaints about slow play on Thursday, as well as the threat of rain, tournament organizers moved the tees up so that course played much shorter. As a result, par took a beating as 59 players were under par Friday, and the cut line, at 141, was the lowest that Royal Canadian Golf Association officials could recall.
Chi Chi Rodriguez took advantage of the course conditions, as well as an improved attitude, to shoot a course record 63 and stood alone at the top of the leader board at 131, the lowest 36-hole score on the PGA TOUR for the year. Larry Ziegler matched Rodriguez’s 63 and stood one stroke back of the lead.
Weiskopf, who shot a 65 for a 137 total, said, “Moving the tees up belittled the course.”
Nicklaus also objected to the tees being moved up saying, “When you’re playing a national championship like the Canadian Open, and it’s one of the top five tournaments in the world today, the players should play on the same length course all four days. It’s a shame this should happen on a really good golf course.”
Lee Trevino, who shot 69 for a two-round total of 135, agreed saying the tees “were set up too easy for a national title.”
Nicklaus shot a 65 in the second round and was at 135, tied with Trevino and six others including John Schlee and Ben Crenshaw. Dick Ryan held third place with a round of 66, two strokes off the lead while Bobby Nichols shot a 67 and was at 134 in fourth place.
“That wind made it a little tougher out there today.”
The wind kicked up on Saturday around noon, just as the leaders were teeing off, making scoring more difficult than in previous rounds.
“That wind made it a little tougher out there today,” said Bobby Nichols who shot a two-under 68 in the 25 miles per hour gusts and took over the lead at 202. Rodriguez never felt comfortable in the wind and slipped to a 74, three strokes off the lead. Ziegler could do only one stroke better shooting 73 and was tied with Rodriguez.
John Schlee managed to shoot a 69 and stood at 204. Ben Crenshaw was still in the hunt with a third round 71 for a total of 206, as was Ray Floyd who shot a 69 on Saturday and stood at 207.
“I wasn’t too worried after I made the turn in 34 and saw on the scoreboard that I had a three-stroke lead.”
The wind continued to blow on Sunday and the leader, Bobby Nichols, drew motivation from something that no other player in the field could—he was the host pro at Firestone and would play in the World Series of Golf if he could finish the deal in the fourth round.
Nichols was full of confidence as he finished the front nine later telling reporters, “I wasn’t too worried after I made the turn in 34 and saw on the scoreboard that I had a three-stroke lead. But when I went bogey, bogey and walked off the 11th to see I had only a one-stroke lead, then I did get concerned.”
Both Raymond Floyd and Chi Chi Rodriguez were making a charge at Nichols, and Schlee and Ziegler were also playing well and were in contention. Even Jack Nicklaus was making a move until he ran into an old foe by the name of The Chief—the 12th hole.
Nicklaus, playing several groups in front of Nichols and in a position to challenge for the lead, hit his second shot, a one-iron, that landed in the bank between the green and the Credit River and it took him three more strokes to find the green before recording a double bogey ruining any chance he may have had. He finished with a final round 70 and a four-round total of 277.
Floyd, who got into a share of the lead at one point, dropped out of contention after a double bogey on the 14th hole. Crenshaw got to within a shot of the lead before he put a shot in the water, also on the 14th hole, that resulted in a double bogey putting him out of contention.
After the 11th hole, Nichols shrugged off his challengers with birdies on the next three holes. He holed birdie putts of three, 18, and eight feet. After the three birdies, Nichols was able to coast home shooting a 68 for a total of 270, four strokes in front of Ziegler (69), and Schlee (70). Trevino could not get anything going and shot a final round 72 for a 275 total tied with Floyd who shot a 68. Others at 275 included Rodriguez, Lou Graham, and Dale Douglass.
The 38-year-old Nichols won $40,000, but the cherry on top of the sundae was that he qualified for the World Series of Golf at Firestone where he would try to add another $50,000 to his bank account.
We are rerunning the video of Gary Player describing his shot on the 16th hole of the 1972 PGA Championship that he provided, exclusively to Tour Backspin. We spoke with him recently from his home in Florida (click on image to play video):
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Bonus Story
With his victory in the Canadian Open, Bobby Nichols won a spot in the 1974 World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club. He would play against Gary Player, winner of the Masters and The Open Championship, Lee Trevino, the winner of the PGA Championship, and Hale Irwin, winner of the U.S. Open.
Bobby Nichols was the head pro at Firestone and instead of acting the role of a host, as he had done in years past, he would now be the crowd favorite in the competition for the $50,000 first place money. It was one of the largest first place checks available in pro golf. The prize money for second place was $15,000 while third paid $7,500 and fourth place paid $5,000.
He was a salaried employee of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and enjoyed the same benefits as other employees, but the arrangement worked well for Nichols in other areas as well. He was able to play on the tour as much as he wanted to, Firestone allowed him to winter in Florida, and the revenues from the Firestone pro shop, cart rentals, driving range, and bag storage were all his. When added to his salary, he took home an estimated $70,000 in 1974.
While the benefits of playing a home game helped Nichols, the distractions of friends, members, and his corporate bosses, may have hindered him. He shot 71-72 to finish in third place. Lee Trevino won the $50,000 first prize check when he outlasted Gary Player in a seven-hole playoff. Hale Irwin finished in last place or as he liked to say, “I like to call it fourth place.”
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Tour Backspin Quiz | Canadian Open Trivia
How many Canadian Opens did Jack Nicklaus win?
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Swing Like a Pro
Bobby Nichols’ driver swing
Blind Shot
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Who’s The Big Dog?
In 1974, the PGA TOUR staged a long drive contest. Here’s how the PGA TOUR players fared:
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A great Calcutta gambling story. Read it HERE.
Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema tells the story of one of the tour’s biggest stars in the mid-1960s. A fascinating glimpse into the traveling caravan that was the PGA TOUR during an era where the fields were full of “Mad Men” era personalities. From a hardscrabble youth spent on the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro, to the temptations of Elko, Nevada, to the bright lights of the PGA TOUR, Uncorked tells a story of determination, redemption and, above all else, a love story that documents how Betty, Tony’s new wife, provided the direction and motivation for him to become a top star. Order on Amazon.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Zero. The Canadian Open was one of the titles that eluded Jack Nicklaus.
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Final Thoughts
What a pleasant change to watch the Memorial Tournament in sunny weather with firm and fast conditions. This tournament usually has at least one bad weather day.
Did Bobby Nichols have the best of both worlds as he played the tour while being the head pro at Firestone?
The winning distance in the long drive contest in 1974 is about 25 yards longer than the average driving distance on tour this year.
Just catching up. See that I guessed another hole! Needn't a prize, as these golf history lessons are reward enough! Andy Brown